The Curse's Mistake
by CloudySoul
Summary: For generations the Sohma family curse has gone on with no flaws, but what would happen if there just happened to be a mistake? But one girl's existence defies everything the curse stands for. Akane Sohma is the second cat. Not the second to exist, but the only one to be alive at the same time as an another cursed with the cat. (EDITED, REUPLOAD AS OF APRIL 2017)
1. The Beginning

_It's completely dark, but I can still __**feel**__ the dark figure hovering over me._

_Akito._

_As he raises his hand preparing to strike me he says, "you're just a mistake"_

I bolt up, my hand automatically reaches up to snuffle the scream that rips out of my throat. Looking around I notice I'm just in my room, Not with Akito. Safe. I have to reassure myself it was just a nightmare. Hoever, this isn't abnormal for me, but that doesn't make it any less terrifying.

I get out of bed, there's no use dwelling on a nightmare. After all, I get the same one every time i close my eyes. The best way to deal with them is to just completely forget about it, and move on with the rest of my day. So i do. I wash up and put on clean clothes. Then continue to the kitchen, where i begin to prepare breakfast. I always look forward to this meal. Every morning Hatori comes to eat breakfast with me. Even though it's normally quick, afterall he's always busy, treating to the rest of the "special" Sohmas.

I live in a one room apartment with a kitchen and sitting area, Hatori rents for me. Recalling all the times Hatori been there for me, causes me to beam. He basically raised me. The only reason I live such a plain, but good life is because he helped me. Before i living here, i lived in the cat room. Constantly being abused by Akito whenever he had a bad day, which seemed to be almost everyday. The only way i survived in that hell hole was because Hatori brought me food and tended to my injuries. He'd even sometimes bring me a book-which he taught me how to read- he would do simple things like this even before that Ilived with my real family.

**Not real.**

Biological family.

In my biological family only one who cared about me there was my brother, my twin. We shared the same curse and were best friends.

I still remember the day my mother let Akito _take, _no **gave.** The day my mother gave me away to Akito. It rained that day, stormed. I remember thunder concealing my screams as Akito dragged me away from my family, my brother. I remember watching as Hatori took all memory of me from my brother. It only took a few seconds and he was gone. I don't blame Hatori for this, he was only following orders, but the memory still stings.

I was six then, but i remember clearly.

I hear a knock on the door. Which is weird, Hatori normally just comes in, and if it were locked-which it isn't- he has a key.

"Come in." I shout over my shoulder.

I hear the door open and the ruffle of clothes as he enters.

"I made your favorite." I say as I turn around to face him, frying pan in hand.

The dull look in Hatori's eyes tells me that something is wrong. Looking behind him, instantly makes me want to shrink into non-existance, but instead I freeze

Akito. In my home.

I feel the blood drain from my cheeks, but my pulse raise. I tighten my jaw line to try and hide any emotion my face may show. There's a amused grin playing on Akito's face, and I know nothing good will come from this. If there is an option to pick the worst outcome, he knows it and he will pick it.

Hatori clears his throat, "Akito came to speak with you." A flash of worry appears on his features but he recovers his unchanging facial expression as soon as it happens. I give a slight nod and set my pan down before walk around the counter.

We sit on the floor, Akito across from both Hatori and I. Akito wastes no time.

"I feel that you are beginning to forget who you are, my little _freak." _he begins, "So i've decided it's best for you to come back to your own family. Where you belong."

because he fills in some more of the pieces to Akitos confusing puzzle.

"You would be staying with Shigure and attending the nearest high school. However, you wouldn't be able to allow them to know about your curse. None of them, not even the other Sohmas." He says in a monotone voice. I let out a sigh of relief knowing that i won't have to go back to the cat room. But staying with the other Sohmas? I know who Shigure is, he's the dog. I've seen him in many pictures. I really have to question that part where they're not to know about my curse though. Why not? I'm just like them, what's the point in hiding it? Is he only bored and looking for a game? I wouldn't be surprised.

Akito doesn't say anything else, he simply stands up and beckons Hatori to follow him out the door. Hatori begins to follow him then turns back to me. The cold expression melts off his face and he looks more like the Hatori I know.

"I'll be back in a hour so start packing." I nod. He checks over his shoulder before giving me a light hug and whispering "sorry kitten." A small smile finds it's way upon my face at the nickname.

"It's not your fault" I reassure him. He turns and follows Akitos path out the door.

I stand and listen as the car engine comes to life and the tires move against the gravel, until they are too far to hear. I look around the room. It isn't much, but it's home, at least the place I've ever actually felt at home. I don't have time to waste feeling remorse. I begin to pack everything i'll be needing to take, and just as he said Hatori returns in a hours time. He helps me carry my bags to the car and lock up the appartment.

The ride there is silent, I don't think either of us knows what to say. Frankly i don't know if i could be able to hold a conversation anyway, with the weight of the morning hanging over me I'd rather just sit and think. Thinking breaks worry though. What troubles will this bring? Hiding my curse shouldn't be a problem but will I be able to live as simply as I did before? Will Akito come by to torment me everyday after his afternoon tea? It doesn't seem like he would just leave me alone, if that was the case he could have just let me be in my home. I'm not sure if getting used to a comfy life was the right idea, I should have expected this would eventually come.

When we get there Hatori helps me carry my bags to the door. I pause before knocking. When i do, a boy opens it. He looks about my age and has long silky grey hair. I know him because I've seen him in pictures before. The rat.

When the sudden burst of anger rushes through me it's dulled, probably because the day has already brought too much shock for my body to handle.

"Don't be rude, let them in." A male voice calls from inside. Rat boy eyes my bags for a moment then opens the door wider so we can slip in.

When I fully analyze the people in the room, I stop dead in my tracks. I was already expecting the black haired male who is Shigure and the young brunette girl- who Hatori had informed me was living here months ago-, but what i didn't expect was the orange mop of hair sitting at one end of the table.

My brother.

Kyo.


	2. Of a new life

Kyo's the first to break the silence, "Who the hell are you?" he doesn't try to hide the annoyance in his voice. I step back -picking flight, out of fight or flight, but that doesn't work for me since Hatori is blocking my only known escape route. I knew he didn't remember me, but I can still feel the slap to the face burning into my skin. flaming images flash through my mind, ones of Kyo.. the Kyo that knew me, smiling at me carelessly, but they're gone as soon as it's there.

They turn to Shigure questioning him in silence. He lets out a deep sigh, which lasts a bit to long for the situation.

"Oh dear," he dramatically starts, "did I happen to forget to mention a new fine lady was moving in with us?"

The girl looks excited to hear this news, but Kyo just looks annoyed by it. Hatori subtly pushes me forward with one hand, probably wanting me to introduce myself so I go along.

"H-hello, I'm Akane Sohma." I don't like the way my voice shakes, but it does. When I glance over I see Kyo's eyebrows furrow together but he says nothing so I continue, "I guess I'll be living with you for quite a while..." I say looking around nervousness crawling through every vain from head to toe.

"Sohma?" the rat asks giving me a smile. I nod in response. I don't think I could reply to him without showing off my predetermined impression of him, I can't help but feel it towards him. It's not only the story of the zodiac animals, where the rat tricks the cat for only one reason, his own entertainment. but in the very short time (literally about 2 and a half minutes) I've been here I can tell he likes to show off his pretty boy act and fake smiles just to make people like him, and it's already pissing me off.

There's a moment of awkward silence before the brunette speaks up, "Have you eaten yet?" she asks. I never noticed how hungry I actually am with all the other stuff on my mind. I mutter a no. She asks me to remove my shoes then directs me to the seat in between Shigure and her and hands me a plate. "Hatori would you like some too?" she questions.

"No, I should probably get back to the main house." I notice how he reverts to his normal tone and posture. I don't get why he acts so stiff around other people..

"Oh okay.. Have a safe drive drive home!" She beams despite her offer being rejected.

Hatori nods and turns to leave. I silently excuse myself and follow him out.

It's already afternoon and despite it being mid fall it feels like we're having a heat wave, but the warmth is nice. I make sure to close the door fully before pulling Hatori into a hug.

"I don't know if I can do this.." I whisper into his ear. I never expected Kyo to be here. I thought it would just be Shigure, that girl, and at most one other person. How am I suppose to move in with strangers I didn't even know one day prior? I'm not even sure if they're good people or twisted like Akito.

He pulls back and grabs my shoulders, "You have to." He says it sternly, because it is the truth, but gives me a small reassuring smile with the harshness of the situation. We say goodbye and he walks away. I watch as he enters his car and drives away before going back inside.

When I get back to the table everyone is already in their own separate conversations and don't pay much attention to me, which I'm thankful for. I eat in silence not really paying attention to the voices around me. So when The girl asks me something I have no choice but to make her repeat it.

"Is your hair naturally red?" she says again, but doesn't seem annoyed one bit.

Crap. My hair is natural... Maybe taking some precautions to hide my natural, well uh, cursed features would have been a good decision. Hair dye prior to arriving wouldn't have been that bad of an idea, no matter how much I'd dread it.

"uhh.. I dye it..." I manage to spit out before they get suspicious. Kyo lets out a small scuff at this, and I wonder why, but I don't dwell on it.

"Oh, well that color looks nice on you!" she says smiling. I give her a small thanks, "I'm Tohru by the way" she says. I turn back to my own plate and she returns to talking to Kyo.

Kyo's hair is still as messy as ever and his posture is still horrible, but, he doesn't look as sad as he used to. Even when we were still so small and careless he always tried not to let me see him sad, he thought it made him weak, but i could always tell by the look in his eyes if he was suffering. Now his eyes are filled with passion, fiery passion. I wonder, did the sadness leave his soul when I was taken away? Was I the only thing keeping him from happiness all that time. If that's the case maybe I should have just died in the cat room like Akito promised. Maybe I still will. Sometimes i believe him, Maybe I am just a mistake, maybe i should die alone in the darkness of the cat room, maybe i was never meant to exist at all. I'm so willing to let Akitos darkness spread over my mind in the day as it does the night, so I shun the thoughts to the back of my mind.

My eyes skim over Kyo, once again. He wears a bracelet on his left arm, it's only containing half it's beads. I wear a identical bracelet on my ankle beaded with the other half of the beads. The beads. The only things that keeps our monstrous forms hidden.

Yuki leans leans over and whispers something to Shigure but Shigure only shakes his head in response then turns to me. "So Akane, have you heard uh," he changes the tone of his voice to have a mysterious undertone, "certain details about this household." Yuki looks as if he was given a instant headache by the way he pinches his nose and bows his head down but Kyo sounds way more annoyed.

"Are you fucking kidding me Shigure?" Kyo says pestered, "Can you be anymore obv-"

"Yes, I know about the curse." I answer simply without making eye contact. The air becomes tense but no one questions why I, just _a random Sohma_, know about the curse.

"See I told you." Shigure says, even though it is clearly a lie, and begins to laugh. He shuts up when both Kyo and Yuki send chopsticks whizzing past his head.

When everyone is done Shigure asks Tohru to take me to the guest room, which I guess is now my room. She gives me a blanket and one of her school uniforms to use until I get my own before leaving me to sort out my stuff.

After putting my clothes into the dresser that was already in the room i sit on the ground and look around. The room is pretty big, and already has a bed, there's also a door that leads to a small balcony, so it's pretty roomy. Perhaps more than I deserve, but I wouldn't say I didn't enjoy the idea of having a room that wasn't connected to the kitchen.

* * *

I wake up to the smell of food. Taking in the scent for a moment before I even think about checking the time. I turn to the side to look at my clock-which i brought along with me. 7:26. Which means i have 4 minutes to get ready. Of all days of course I would over sleep, today? I quickly rush to the bathroom to wash up and put my uniform on and by the time I make it downstairs Kyo, Yuki, and Tohru are waiting for me by the door. Shigure hands me a piece of toast and I thank him before follow them out. Tohru and Yuki walk together at the front indulged in their own conversation and somehow I end up in the middle of the 'line', right before Kyo. Luckily he doesn't try to talk to me and I can stay in my own little world the whole walk there.

When we arrive Tohru walks with me to the office where they give me a schedule. Turns out all four of us are in the same homeroom and Tohru and I have two periods together, History and Study hall and according to her Yuki and Kyo are each in one of my other classes. They even put me a year ahead in math after I took a test to prove I was at a higher level then my age range, apparently Yuki is in that class also.

I spend the rest of the morning taking tests in each of my classes. By the time lunch comes around I'm forced to sit alone since Tohru has a lunch period before me. After a while of basically the whole room staring and whispering about the new girl, a random guy walks behind me and flips some of my hair into my face. "Nice hair." He chuckles and walks away. I mutter a few words of choice and then end up retreating to the hallways, only partially eating my lunch. Not that the dry sandwich was that great anyway.

When lunch is finished I meet up with Tohru and go to study hall. She informs me that Kyo actually also has the same lunch period as me, so I'm guessing he eats somewhere other than the cafeteria. I don't blame him, the cafeteria is horrible. If I knew the cool hang out spots I wouldn't mind skipping the whole cafeteria ordeal either.

Tohru guides me inside our class, where she introduces me to her friends, Uo, a yankee, and Hana who seemed to have her own little weird aura around her.

When Tohru introduces me Uo says, "So, another red head hun?"

"I swear if another person comments on my hair.." I mutter wanting to pound my head into the wall.

The girl begins to laugh, "I like this orange top," she admits. The other girl, Hana, comments that it is more red than orange before saying some weird phrase.

* * *

I formed balls with the rice fresh out of the steamer while Tohru continued to cook the main part of the meal. When I offered to help her prepare dinner she immediately turned me down, but when I insisted that I'd only be laying around listening to music if I had nothing to do she agreed that I'd cook half and she'd do the rest. However I only ended up on rice ball duty.

Shigure leaned against the door frame, "What is it the lovely flowers of this household are cooking?" I wanted to make a retort at the name 'lovely flower' but I decided to let it slide.

"Just some sukiyaki and rice balls. It'll be done in a few minutes" she informs him. I finish laying the rice balls in a straight line along a serving plate and carry them to the table. When I walk back over to the kitchen Shigure is still there and looks as though he was waiting.

"By the way", he begins, "I forgot to inform you Momji and Haru will be joining us tomorrow and staying all night." Momji... and Haru? The names seem familiar but I can't match them to a certain face. Hatori has shown me what most of the zodiac members look like and their names but before now it didn't seem like something I needed to remember, until now of course.

"Ooo why would they be coming here?" Tohru asks pouring sukiyaki into 5 different bowls.

"Momji just wants to visit you of course, and I wouldn't be surprised if word carried to him about Akane coming to live with us. He probably wants to meet her." _Joy_. I'm going to have to be around more of the Sohmas and be forced to act like a normal human. Which is already hard enough since I'm not. I'm a monstrous creature, or at least that's the way they'd see me if they knew who-_what_ I really was. In books and TV shows all people do is complain about how they only wish to fit in, and here I am needing to do the exact opposite.

"And Haru?" Yuki asks stepping out from the hall way, probably coming down to eat.

"Haru is most likely coming to see you" He replies chuckling a little.

"Great..", He doesn't really look annoyed nor excited.

The rest of the night I keep mostly to myself and it goes off without a hitch. Now only if the rest of my stay could be the same...


End file.
